Arizona Rail Passenger Association

According to the East Valley Tribune (see full story in the 15 March edition):

Mayor Hugh Hallman’s re-election was practically assured before the polls opened… Hallman, the only mayoral candidate on the ballot, received 12,839 votes, according to the official results…

Hallman, in an Arizona Republic Election Question Special, said:

…we need to continue our lead in moving the outer communities to commuter rail options to reduce the growing pressure on local freeways..

Also according to the Tribune,

Mark Mitchell [incumbent] was the only candidate to win outright… The other incumbent in the race, Hut Hutson, did not win outright and faces a four-way runoff on May 20 for the remaining two seats against challengers Julie Jakubek, Joel Navarro and Corey Woods…

Mitchell, in the Republic special, said he wants to work on:

working with our Scottsdale and Chandler city councils to extend light rail to their communities. …[and] start looking at whether commuter rail would help alleviate congestion on our roadways.

by Glen Creno in The Arizona Republic, Feb. 29, 2008

Plans for passenger rail in Arizona are moving forward, but significant hurdles remain before any system is built.

The Maricopa Association of Governments has released a long-awaited draft of its commuter-rail study, which outlines three options that would haul commuters from Phoenix suburbs into job centers in the central city. At the same time, key players in developing high-speed rail between Phoenix and Tucson have joined together to seek money to plan a system…

Rest of the story in the Arizona Republic

The Maricopa Association of Governments Commuter Rail Strategic Plan is now available for download from: http://www.mag.maricopa.gov/project.cms?item=7338

from the Arizona Republic, 5 December 2007

South Tempe, Ahwatukee and west Chandler could get a little closer to light rail if a new Tempe South Corridor Study shows it would relieve increasingly heavy north-south traffic…

The study will examine transportation needs of the area between Priest Drive and Loop 101, and downtown Tempe and the Santan Freeway. The area includes Chandler Fashion Center and the Price Corridor…

A light-rail extension south from the line under construction in Tempe along Apache Boulevard is an option, but it’s not the only one, [Wulf] Grote said. Additional bus lines or commuter rail service on the Union Pacific tracks between Kyrene and Priest roads also will be examined…

Rest of the story in the Arizona Republic